Parking Scotland Expo 2022 Paving the way Sarah Juggins reports from last months Parking Scotland Expo ociety has seen some big changes over the past two years, said Jenny Gilruth, the Scottish governments Minister for Transport, when she opened the BPA Parking Scotland Expo 2022. With a looming cost of living crisis, parking has its part to play in helping people cope with the coming challenges. And while parking should be a positive experience for everyone, one of the key features of parking enforcement should be to eradicate inconsiderate and dangerous parking. The minister said that the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 (Part 6), which includes provision for pavement parking enforcement, must now move forward with its measures. She added that enforcement was only one part of the process and that education would also be key in making sure that the message got through. S Careful planning Pavement parking legislation remained the core of the conversation when Walter Scott, representing the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and service leader (roads and transportation) at Angus Council, warned that some aspects need careful consideration. Scott pointed out that while many pavement parking prohibitions were clear-cut, there were several instances when exemptions to the legislation would need to be decided upon. As these were likely to be contentious, he emphasised the need for a very clear audit trail on how local authorities arrived at decisions. I would just ask that the decision-makers remind themselves that the intention is that there will be no pavement parking and that any exemptions are used sparingly. John Berry from Dundee City Council pointed out that eight local authorities in Scotland do not currently have decriminalised parking enforcement. His rhetorical question: How do you think it will work when one local authority introduces pavement parking enforcement but the neighbouring local authority doesnt enforce? highlighted the issues faced by local authorities across Scotland. TRO plus Scott explained how one provision of the Parking Act has brought a number of benefits to parking management. Experimental traffic regulation orders (ETROs) have been in place since November 2021 to allow road authorities to introduce experimental orders following seven days notice. A six-month consultation period is then held. The beauty of this, explained Scott, is it enables both the parking operator and the general public to see how a new measure could work before either scrapping it or turning it into a permanent TRO. TROs are complex and are always being challenged, said Scott. This is an ideal opportunity for parking managers to trial an idea on the ground. Scott said that often TROs are dumped on the desk of the parking manager. With an ETRO, both traffic and parking departments can work together to figure out how it will be managed. Parking Scotland Expo gold sponsor: RingGo Parking Scotland Expo event sponsor: IPS Group 18 PN Oct 2022 pp18-21 Scotland expo.indd 18 23/09/2022 11:27